Under the 1996 Housing Act as amended by the 2002 Homelessness Act, Local Authorities have a legal obligation to carry out a review of homelessness in their area, and to devise a strategy to prevent homelessness and to meet their legal obligations to provide permanent housing for people who are statutorily homeless. A national Homelessness Strategy was published in 2003 with a revised version due to be published in Autumn 2005. The strategy provides a framework for strategic and operational work by Local Authorities and their partners at a local level.
Homelessness represents the most extreme form of housing need and social exclusion. Homelessness levels are rising rapidly in Wales with numbers of statutorily homeless people rising 108% between 2000/1 and 2003/4. This has increased pressure on Local Authorities such that the use of Bed and breakfast has risen by over 500% over the same period. Reasons for this rise are complex and not completely understood, however it is clear that they are linked to the increased rights of vulnerable homeless people introduced in 2001, and to trends in the wider housing market and pressures on affordable housing.
A series of reviews of Local Authority homelessness services was commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government and published in June 2005 (Tarki Report). The report focuses on the extent to which Local Authorities are developing a pro active approach to prevention approach and provides recommendations for improving front line services.
There are proposals to introduce legislation which regulates the physical condition and management of temporary accommodation as well as the length of time that homeless households can be placed in temporary accommodation
For more information contact: Sue Finch